🔗 Share this article

Government Building

The Greek parliament has given the green light a disputed work legislation that permits 13-hour work shifts, in the face of fierce opposition and nationwide strike actions.

The administration stated the law will revamp Greek labor regulations, but opposition figures from the left-wing party described it as a "harmful law."

Key Elements of the Recently Passed Labor Law

According to the freshly approved law, annual overtime is limited at 150 hours, while the regular 40-hour workweek remains in place.

Officials emphasizes that the longer workday is voluntary, solely applies to the private sector, and can exclusively be used for up to 37 days annually.

Political Support and Resistance

The recent vote was supported by MPs from the governing centre-right party, with the moderate faction – currently the primary resistance – voting against the bill, while the progressive party did not vote.

Worker organizations have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal recently that brought transportation and public services to a stop.

Official Defense and Employee Safeguards

A senior official supported the bill, claiming the reforms bring in line Greek legislation with modern labor-market conditions, and alleged critics of misleading the public.

These regulations will provide workers the choice to accept extra work with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing extra hours.

This follows EU working-time regulations, which limit the average week to 48 hours counting extra hours but allow flexibility over a year, as stated by the administration.

Critical Perspectives and Union Responses

But, opposition parties have charged the government of eroding workers' rights and "driving the country back to a labor middle age." They argue Greek workers currently work longer hours than the majority of Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union said flexible working hours in reality mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation."

Recent Labor Reforms and Financial Context

Last year, the country enacted a six-day work schedule for certain industries in a attempt to stimulate economic growth.

Recent laws, which started at the start of the summer, allow employees to labor up to 48 hours in a workweek as instead of forty.

European Labor Statistics and Greek Financial Indicators

• Throughout the EU in the previous year, the highest working weeks were observed in Greece (39.8 hours), then Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.
• The shortest work hours in the bloc is in the Netherlands, as per Eurostat.
• Starting this year, Greece's official base pay was €968 a month, placing it in the lower tier among European nations.
• Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of five point nine percent, data from the statistical office indicate.
• Greece is recovering since its prolonged debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but salaries and living standards remain among the lowest in the European Union.